


Two Shots of Whiskey

by littlejeanniebean



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Western, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-10
Updated: 2020-06-28
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:42:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 9,863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24114463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlejeanniebean/pseuds/littlejeanniebean
Summary: Deputies James Potter and Sirius Black just came to arrest the bandit claim jumper, Peter Pettigrew, but when Lucius Malfoy threatens Lily Evans' claim to her late father's saloon, they decide to help out any way they can.
Relationships: Bellatrix Black Lestrange/Rodolphus Lestrange, James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Lily Evans Potter/Severus Snape, Lucius Malfoy/Narcissa Black Malfoy, Sirius Black & Remus Lupin & Peter Pettigrew & James Potter, Sirius Black/Mary Macdonald
Comments: 68
Kudos: 35





	1. Scotch

**Author's Note:**

> Originally a two-shot from my Assorted Requests but I decided to make it a series after some enthusiastic prompting!

“Scotch,” the bespectacled man rumbled. 

“Comin’ right up,” the red-headed lady at the bar in a bodice up to her neck and a massive green hoop skirt poured him a shot.

“Much obliged, Miss,” he raised his glass before downing it.

A long-haired man burst into the saloon and looked around before his eyes settled on the bespectacled man and the red-headed lady.

“Friend of yours?” she muttered.

“Partner,” said the man, simply.

“Well, that’s mighty unusual,” the partner drawled.

“A lady owning her own saloon or that lady refusing you service for spite?” she took the scotch bottle off the counter for good measure.

“I _was_ gunna say that you don’t have a pee-a-noe in the corner or something. Set the mood!”

She couldn’t decide whether or not he was making fun of her, so she just rolled her eyes and asked, “What’ll it be?”

“Whatever James here just got,” he jabbed a dirty thumb at his friend.

She poured him a scotch as well.

“Miss, we’re looking for this man,” James laid a wanted poster on the counter of a chubby fellow with a mouse-like appearance, “Have you ever seen ‘im or know who might’ve?”

“Oh, yeah, Doc Lupin saw to his gunshot wound. Keeping him down on morphine. He already sent a wire to the marshals. That bounty’s his, so you best be on your way.”

“Oh!” the partner fished a badge out from under his dusty poncho.

“That’s us,” said the bespectacled man, flashing his badge as well.

“Right, I’ll take you to ‘im then,” the woman yelled for someone named Mary to take over.

That someone named Mary had on a deep blue dress with a much lower swoop and winked at the marshals on their way out. The long-haired man walked backwards so he wouldn’t have to stop looking at her on the way out. 

“Deputies Potter and Black,” James wiped his glasses quickly before slapping them back on his face.

“Lily Evans,” she let herself into the doctor’s office, “Doc! It’s the marshals!”

There was a great clatter in the back and Deputy Potter signalled for Black to move forward and Lily to stand still. 

“Freeze, Pettigrew!” came Black’s voice from behind the curtain before Potter joined him. 

“You alright, Doc?” came Potter’s voice.

For Lily, it was like watching a shadow puppet show. One deputy helped the doctor to his feet while the other tied up their wanted man. 

“We’ll send for your money to be wired to the bank in Chicago. From there you can arrange for it to be delivered to you whenever you like.”

“Thank you,” Doc Lupin shook their hands.

Suddenly, Pettigrew freed himself of his rope and burst through the curtain. But he didn’t see Lily standing there with one of the doctor’s metal trays. A resounding _clang_ echoed as it made contact with his head.

“Thanks,” said Deputy Black, deciding to put a noose on their quarry this time and held fast to the other end.

“So does this mean I get half the bounty now?” Lily elbowed Doc Lupin with a sideways smirk.

“A fourth?” he spat in his hand, so did she, and they shook on it.

Deputy Potter watched the exchange with amusement, even as he followed his partner and prisoner out.


	2. Bourbon

“We’re closed,” Lily didn’t look up from wiping the solid oak counter until it gleamed in the early dawn.

“Jus’ wan’ tuh speak tuh Evans ‘bout a bet I placed last week,” drawled a tall man with a shock of ash blond hair under his ten gallon hat.

“All bets are final. You can collect on the dates posted outside the door, but today ain’t one of ‘em,” she spoke in a clipped tone that would have sent any respectable patron out with a “good day, ma’am, sorry tuh bother yous.”

“I said I wan’ tuh speak tuh  _ Evans _ ,” his spurs swaying as he ambled towards the counter, casting a shadow over her.

Unperturbed, she leaned forward and told him squarely, “Yuh are. Did you have another question about your bets, sir?” 

His cold gray eyes bore into hers as his mouth folded into a sinister snarl, “Naw, Miss… Good day,” in a menacingly deliberate way, he tipped his hat and strolled out.

Lily unbuttoned her fitted vest so she could breathe better and poured herself a bourbon.

“Bit early, ain't it?” Mary came out from the back room, ledger nestled in the crook of her arm like a babe.

“Lucius Malfoy just came in looking to talk to ‘Evans’ about a bet.”

The business lady scoffed, “His fault for having terrible instincts. He’s got to live with it.”

“Yeah,” Lily poured herself another glass.

“Hey, just because he’s rich and a chauvinist don’t mean nothin’. He can’t and won’t touch us. How else is he gon’ win his money back?”

“Yeah.”

That night, while the usual drinking and gambling took place, Deputies Potter and Black came in quietly. 

“Deputies!” Mary greeted them warmly, “Thought you’d left without saying goodbye!”

“Nonsense,” said Black, who cleaned up rather nicely, “we were raised better than that.”

“The usual?” Lily asked of Potter.

“Yes, please,” he drummed the counter lightly, “Heard you had some trouble with the local gentry? Malloy or somethin’?”

“Malfoy,” she slid him a whiskey, “Is this of interest to you professionally, Deputy?

“Need it be?”

“Not yet,” but just as she said it, Lucious Malfoy strode in and the entire saloon fell into a tense hush. 

The “gentleman” if he could be called such, was flanked by a giggly woman with all manner of guns and bullets strapped to her small person and a surly man with a single silver pistol that stood out at his hip against his entirely black ensemble. 

“Article four section five-point-three of state legislature says,” Malfoy took Potter’s whiskey to wet his lips, “that a woman shall not come into possession of any piece of land unless bequeathed to her by her husband or father after their deaths have been determined to be due to natural causes. Have you ever been wed, Miss Evans?”

Lily couldn’t shake the feeling that she knew the man beside him who dressed like the devil’s pastor and then it dawned on her, “ _ Severus _ ?”

The man blinked and looked up at her face for the first time, “ _ Lily _ ?”

She shook her head, “What are you -”

He shook his head, “I had no idea -”

“Well, then walk aw-”

“I need the mon-”

“ _ Answer the question _ , Miss Evans,” Malfoy interrupted with a sharp rap of his knuckles against the counter. 

“This isn’t a court of law and she ain’t on trial,” Mary spoke up for her.

“Well, then, deputies,” he nodded to Potter and Black respectively, “I believe you best turn out this establishment’s patrons and arrest the woman for unlawful possession of this here land until she can prove otherwise -”

“Sir,” Potter drew himself up to his full height, still a few inches short of Malfoy, but would do in a pinch, “your… concern as a… citizen… is certainly admirable. However, the law assumes innocence until guilt is proven. My partner and I will question her and her associate but in the meantime, I think everyone would like to get on with their night, hmm?”

There were murmurs of agreement among those present. 

Malfoy’s lips curled into a dry smirk, “Keep me apprised.”

Then he left, the likely trigger-happy woman and the man named Severus at his heels.

“They’ll be back,” said Lily, pouring the deputies a round on the house.

“You mean you didn’t come to acquire this fine tavern through legitimate means?” Potter raised an eyebrow.

“My father died and left it to my sister, who’s married, so it went to her husband, but he didn’t want it and they moved back east without a word.”

“So the deed is still in his name?”

“Yes,” Lily uncorked the bourbon for herself. 

“That complicates matters.”

She nodded, upending the almost empty bottle into her mouth. 


	3. Beer

“Well, if that ain’t the most ridiculous thing I ever heard, I’ll eat his hat!” Mary jabbed her pointer in Deputy Black’s direction.

  
“Whoa, why me?” the long-haired man feigned offense.

Lily shook her head in disbelief, “So you mean to say that I need to outdraw that high-falutin’ asshole who’s been handlin’ a pistol since before he could ride a goddamn _horse_?”

“Unless you can get,” even with his glasses, James squinted at the faded handwriting on the deed, “ _Vernon Dursley_ to come down to the Chicago office and straighten this out in court.”

While they thought on the predicament, the four nursed some cold beers in the saloon office that boasted a rich red carpet and cherry wood panelling.

“Oh,” Deputy Black snapped his grubby fingers, “and it’s not just Malloy -”

“Malfoy,” Mary corrected.

“Right, who cares, but because this Dursley feller hasn’t staked his claim and you’re a… uh, of the fairer sex -”

Mary snorted loudly.

“- _anyone_ can challenge you for a piece of this place. Tuh make matters worse, for it tuh be a legitimate win for _you_ , everyone in the Hogsmeade township must be notified of the opportunity.”

“You’re pullin’ my leg,” Lily looked between the deputies, whose expressions remained grave, “Look, I can outdraw any ol’ jingler, but a - a - a _duel_ ? A _proper duel_? I might as well dig my own grave and lay in it!”

“Is reachin’ out to Dursley really out of the question?” James asked her.

The redhead pursed her lips, “I haven’t spoken to my sister in years, Deputy… I’ve tried sending letters… I never get a reply… even when I told her that Mom had passed on too - nothin’.”

“I’m sorry,” he told her gently.

She heaved a long sigh, “I might as well save the stamp money tuh help me get the hell outta Dodge, huh?”

“Wait, you’re gunna let him _have_ it?” Mary put her hands on her hips.

“If you’ve got a better idear, I’m all ears!” Lily’s hands dropped to her sides helplessly.

Black shared a look with his partner before speaking, “We could train you. See, when the challenge goes out, we have tuh give any challengers a fortnight to get their affairs in order and we can slog through the legalities of actually announcin’ the challenge so that’ll give you even more time. What do you say?”

The woman looked around the cozy office, out to the front at the oak counter her father had hewn with his own hands. Then she set her jaw and said, “I’ll do it. For Father.”

“You’ll need a second,” nodded James, “I’m best shot this side of the Mississippi.”

She shook her head, “I can’t ask you -”

“You haven’t and you won’t have to,” he said, “We’re stayin’ ‘round the Doc’s homestead. It’s out of the way so Malfoy will never know you’re gettin’ a head start. I’ll personally see to it that you at least take a few years off his life.”

“Thank you, Deputy,” she showed them out and prepared to open the saloon for the next wave of customers.


	4. Mead

_ Bang! Ping! _

“You got one!” James cheered as a bullet from his pistol ricocheted off one of the Doc’s old metal pans.

“About time,” Lily huffed, blowing a tendril of bright red hair away from her sweaty face, “Are you sure we need to be this far away?”

“State law says a minimum of ten feet and according to Lupin, the gentry like to go up to fifteen.”

“So twenty is overkill for good measure?”

“Exactly,” he wiped his glasses quickly, “Let’s see you draw now.”

Lily put the gun in the holster strapped above her hoop skirt and buckled it in.

“Now, he’ll have his hands at his sides, just below the holster,” James demonstrated, “The minute you see his elbow crook, you do the same - good - and pop the buckle -”

“Will someone call ‘draw’?”

“Naw, you need to gauge his temperature.”

“What if I pop the buckle and draw right away?”

“Well, then you risk illegitimacy.”

“God, this is stupid,” she tried to draw, but the pistol got stuck on the strap.

“Tell me about it,” James shook his head slightly.

“Have you ever had to draw on someone like this?” she tried it again, but James was able to draw first.

“At least once a month.”

Lily laughed, but stopped abruptly, “Oh, you’re serious.”

“‘Fraid so.”

“Ever with a gentleman?”

“If I’m lucky. They at least have some sense of honor and won’t shoot me in the back like a coward.”

From the shade of the Doc’s patio, Sirius and Mary sipped mead - Doc Lupin’s mead, more precisely - and played cards. 

“You’re bluffing, Deputy,” she smirked sultrily.

“Is that so?” he grinned devilishly.

“Lily Evans would never allow herself to be helped off a wagon, even if she had a sprained ankle and even if he  _ was _ a deputy.”

He acquiesced with a nod, “Just outta curiosity, what  _ do _ you suppose it would take for your fiery-haired friend to hitch her wagon to my  _ very _ eligible bachelor of a friend?”

“You mean besides her winnin’ that duel with Malfoy -”

“A clear given.”

Mary let out a dramatic sigh, “Well, if you care to put your money where your mouth is, I’ll give you my two-bit.”

“Fifty cents on the dollar says he has to get shot for her first.”

“Seventy-five says she’ll be more mad than impressed, but then she’ll come around after a conversation with the Doc about his condition.”

The roguishly handsome deputy leaned in, “That’s awful specific, Miss MacDonald.”

Mary shrugged and spat in her hand, “Do we have a bet?”

Sirius spat in his hand as well and they shook on it.


	5. Sarsaparilla

Sundays were slow days, at least at first. Most men could be persuaded to church services, if only to pray for their crops and hear what news the minister from Chicago had to tell, but they'd be back with avengence in an hour or so, meaning Lily had to have her hardest liquors all front and centre to catch their thirsty eyes.

She was mildly surprised when the batwing doors swung open and more surprised to see Mrs. Figg hobble in with a kitten in the crook of her arm - there was always a kitten in the crook of her arm; that part wasn't surprising in the least. 

"What can I get you, Arabella?" she smiled at the little lady who'd been living next door to her as long as she could remember.

"Oh, just a sarsaparilla, if I could trouble ye," she hoisted herself up on one of the stools.

"Here ye are," Lily smiled and mentally told herself to kick the habit of mimicking her patrons' mode of speech. This was Arabella Figg, not a customer.

"Ah," the cat lady wet her lips, "ye sure ye don't need one my girls about the place?" she raised the tiny kitten.

"Mice aren't much interested in liquor when there's a feed and seed across the street," the business woman shrugged, "Church services about done then?"

"Oh, they've been done an hour or so. The boys just want tuh hear about the games in Chicago - for their bets," she slid an envelope across the table, "this is the latest according to the minister's wife."

"Thank ye," Lily pocketed the valuable information.

Mrs. Figg remained seated, idling over her sarsaparilla.

"Was there something else?"

"Ye know Severus is back?" her beady, almost cat-like eyes bore into her skull.

She sighed, "I seen 'im."

"Ye seen 'im…" she repeated, nodding, "He's gon' be Malfoy's second in a fortnight."

"He…  _ what _ ?" Lily hadn't spoken to her old friend in years, but she thought he'd have more decency, more honor than that.

"That's what I heard anyway," said the lady, which would have appeased her had it come out of anyone else's mouth. The thing was, in all her years, Arabella Figg never heard wrong.

The batwing doors swung open again and the saloon flooded with the usuals.

"I best be gettin' on," Mrs. Figg smiled, patting Lily's hand and hobbling out. The patrons cut her a wide berth and one even helped her up the step to the doors.

"Miss Evans," said the man ahead of the crowd.

"Yes, Bardin, your usual game?" Lily fished a stack of cards out from under the counter.

"In a minute," he removed his hat and held it in his hand, as did the others.

She scanned the crowd in surprise, "Gentlemen?"

"We jus'..." Bardin struggled for words when he was sober, apparently, "We're very sorry that Malloy feller be givin' yous all this trouble… I used tuh be a fair good shot back in Kansas and, well, if you needed a second, I'd be more 'un happy to oblige."

"We like the way you run things," said the redheaded mercantile owner, who mostly came in once a week for his shipment of wine cases, although he'd never said no to a complementary beer yet, "Don't want that skunk anywhere near this place. It's somethin' of an institution in this town an' yous a part of that."

"We wanted to let you know too," added the oldest man in town, who wore his purple scarf perpetually and only ever came in once a month to try whatever new brew Mary had concocted, "that none of us will be challengin' you for it and while we can't speak for a moneyed ind-visual like Malloy, we can promise no one else'll be givin' you any trouble."

  
The men nodded in solidarity. In solidarity with  _ her _ . And maybe it was because it was a Sunday, or maybe it was something more. In any case, Lily was grateful and called on-the-house happy hour early.


	6. Gin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was the night before the duel and all through the town, several creatures were stirring including a silver-haired bastard and his henchmen.

“Hullo, Miss Evans,” Deputy Potter tipped his hat to her and leaned against the counter, politely out of the way so as not to deter any other potential customers.

“Hullo, yourself,” her smile faded somewhat when she noticed the saloon hush just a bit, “Don’t take this the wrong way, but, er, the men would be a lot more relaxed if you didn’t become a regular -”

“MacDonald!” Deputy Black burst in, “Pour me a double and put thirty on the dollar against the biggest boxing bet you have going!”

The men chuckled and leaned back in their seats once more. The deputies, it seemed, were just like them.

“A double of what, you scallywag?” Mary put him down for the bet in her big leather ledger. 

“Your finest gin,” he leaned over the counter at her in what was meant to be a seductive manner, “and mix in whatever you think I might like. Surprise me.”

“Oh, are we celebrating something, Black?”

“You’re looking at the proud owner of a prime piece of Chicago estate,” he puffed out his chest, despite lowering his voice. He learned quickly from the many attempts - some successful, some not - on his family members' lives that it was never a good idea to flaunt money. That is, unless you were trying to impress a girl.

“Is that so?” Mary leaned over the counter as well, so her bosom was easily in his line of sight.

“My uncle died. Very sad, very sad business.”

“I can see you’re all torn up about it,” she quipped, swirling his gin cocktail for him.

James continued to watch Lily, who seemed very interested in polishing that particular corner of the counter. “Did you still want me to go, or…?”

“I’m sorry, that was rude of me,” she said quickly, but just as swiftly, she jutted out her little freckled chin, “even if you were slightly interfering with my business.”

“Well,” he found himself suddenly at a loss for what to say. Her red hair looked especially lovely in the low, yellow light of the lanterns she had set about the place. 

Lily worried herself about his sudden silence and poured him a scotch on the house to make up for her measly excuse of an apology. Just as she set the bottle back down, it shattered and a bullet lodged itself in her late father's counter. A stray piece of glass drew blood from Lily's cheek.

There was a taunting cackle, followed by a high-pitched singing, “Watch out, watch out, the guns are out! Watch out, watch out, or be put in the ground!”

"That was a warning shot!" a monotonous voice called out.

"Alright, everyone out the back!" Mary efficiently shepherded them all out with Deputy Black's help.

"Are you hurt?" James peaked out the window at the makeshift barricade in the street. There wasn’t a soul in sight. "You should go with -" 

Lily cocked her sawed-off shotgun, "Not a chance, Potter."

"Then you better get -"

_ Pop-pop-pop!  _ They ducked behind the thick counter as the walls were perforated and moonlight streamed in along with splinters and glass shards.

Mary ducked back into the office while whoever was outside reloaded. James strongly suspected the greaseball and crazy lady Lucius Malfoy kept around. 

She came back out with two pistols from the civil war and two belts of ammunition. "I don't actually know how to shoot these antiques, so…" she handed them off to James in exchange for his modern revolver, "Black said you'd know what ‘Canyon Bandit Play’ means?"

"That I do," the bespectacled deputy fired out the broken window. When he had to reload, he switched places with Lily, "Make 'em sittin' ducks behind that barricade!"

Lily shot the hat off a pale head, yelling, "Malfoy, you coward! Don't want to face me like a man tomorrow, is that it?"

The response came in a hail of bullets.

Mary fired off six shots next at the lady with the awful singing and worse hair. 

“Nyah-nyah, missed me!” she laughed loudly.

Then what sounded like a native war cry echoed through the street. Shots were fired from across the street - the Doc's place.

"Lupin!" Lily worried.

"It's alright," James held her arm firmly so she wouldn't stand and get her head blown off, "That's the play."

" _ Yeehaw _ , that's right!" Sirius fired two shots into the sky after three cloaked figures retreating into the night on horseback, "Go on an’ _ get _ , you stinkin', no-good rascals!"

"Try something like that again and see if I fish the bullets outta ya!" Doc Lupin snarled, waving his own shotgun in the air menacingly.

"Alright in there, partner?" Sirius called.

"Fine and dandy!" James strolled out, smirking, Lily and Mary right behind him.

"I'd know that obnoxious ten-gallon anywheres," Lily picked up the hat and examined her handiwork. She hadn't drawn blood, but she wasn't far off either, which put her in a good, joking mood, "What do you reckon I'll still be breathin' this time tomorrow, Deputy?"

James' expression hardened, "There's gotta be somethin' in there somewheres about engagin' in a shootout before the appointed time and date that we can put 'im away with."

"Hell, if there was somethin' anywheres 'bout the likes of that, I'd've goaded him into it long ago," Sirius shook his head, "We can always hit the books tonight and double check."

James nodded and turned to Lily. He unfurled his clean handkerchief and dabbed the cut on her cheek gently, "I'd feel better if you and Miss MacDonald stayed in with the Doc -"

"They won't be back tonight," Lily's green eyes flashed dangerously in the moonlight, although the caress she graced his ministrating hand with was delightfully soft, "and frankly, if Malfoy tried to kill me dishonorably, it means he's  _ afraid _ . I look forward to puttin' a hole in 'im first thing."

The deputies shared a look of concern with the doctor, but nevertheless tipped their hats and bade the ladies goodnight. 


	7. Wine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A duel, a broken friendship, a stately woman in an unusual setting...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for bearing with the slow burn. I hope you find it worth the wait :)

Arthur Weasley, one of the original settlers and owner of the mercantile with his wife, read the rules of the duel out of one of the deputies' law books. Lily was familiar with all of them - James had made sure of that. She couldn't see the deputy's eyes for the sun's glare, but his hands rested, seemingly casual at his sides, but she read his wide stance and the half-curl of his fingers - he was ready to pull on Malfoy or Severus if they tried anything. 

For their part, her opponents' faces were impassive. Severus stood opposite James in his place as second, a permanent scowl on his pale face. Malfoy was mostly hidden by the rim of his ten-gallon, save a wry smirk that was typical of him under any circumstance. Lily felt her palms dampen and wiped them discreetly on her skirt, just behind the revolver she would draw when the time came and when it did, she would be ready - she had to be.

"Take your places," Arthur said finally. 

They about-faced, walked the ten paces Arthur had prescribed and spun to face each other once more.

Malfoy's pinky twitched. Lily's right hand moved a hair closer to her holster. He grabbed, she pulled, they fired.

The smoke cleared and neither had landed a shot. Lily grimaced and Malfoy wiped his brow with an expensive handkerchief. They met in the middle again and this time, she saw the raw, human instinct in his gray eyes, telling him to run. 

"Five paces!" Arthur called, loosening his own collar and giving her a slight nod of encouragement.

They walked away from each other, turned and stared each other down. Lily hadn't imagined it: Malfoy was scared to his britches. She rolled her left shoulder with the air of a cat on the hunt. Her hand moved to rest firmly on the revolver's handle, but still she did not pull and neither did he. Then she shot from the hip and at that distance, she got him in the thigh, just barely missing bone and just barely missing his manhood. He would live, but he would likely not live it down. Doc Lupin rolled him onto a stretcher with little of his usual care. From underneath her ivory-handled parasol, Mary MacDonald spat on him as he was brought past her.

Arthur read out the official document that would put the saloon property firmly in Lily's name. Deputy Black signed it on behalf of the U.S. government since James was a participating member in the duel and couldn't do so. The deputies had to file it in Chicago as well as a report on the shootout the previous night, so they left right away in the hopes that they could get there by dark and be back before noon the next day. 

The day's entertainment was over and the townspeople cleared the streets, but the redhead was still buzzing with adrenaline. She needed a drink, so she went into the saloon -  _ her _ saloon. 

"Miss Evans," a low, droning voice interrupted her quest for a bourbon. 

"Mr. Snape," she addressed him shortly, before making a show of looking at the bullet holes that splattered across the front of her establishment. "What can I get you?"

"Malfoy paid me handsomely for my services."

"Good for you," she downed a quarter of a tumbler glass in one gulp.

"You misunderstand," he put a pouch on the counter, "I apologize for the damages -"

"You  _ apologize _ ?" Lily spat.

"Yes, I -"

"Do you apologize for never writing me back for thirteen years? For your last words to me being that if I had any sense, I would be a proper lady and give up horseback riding, give up hunting with my father, give up carpentry - well, guess what? I did and I hated every second of it! Do you apologize for that as well?"

"You were the one who rejected my proposal -"

"You would have turned me into a  _ housemaid _ !"

"I would have kept you  _ safe _ !"

"Well," she said into the quiet of the room that had stopped its drinking and gambling to listen, "look at that. It would seem I can keep myself safe, Mr. Snape, and you," she shoved his pouch right off the counter, "can keep your dirty money."

If her insults had found any footing, greasy-haired man didn't show it. He picked up his pouch and left without looking back.

In his place stood a woman dressed similarly in dark, heavy, high-collared clothing. It was ill-suited to their hot summer weather, but it was expensive, so she wore it elegantly. Her hair was of the same feathery white quality as Lucius Malfoy's but her nose had an aristocratic swoop as opposed to a hard bridge and her eyes were a soft, robin's egg blue.

"Can I help you?" asked Lily.

"A red wine, perhaps, ought to do it," her voice was silky, without any of the hard edges one acquired when one had been out of the city for too long.

"Here you are, Mrs. Malfoy," she took a stemmed glass from the shelf behind her, not often used, but not dusty. 

The stately woman received her drink with cool indifference, "Now, perhaps my husband will seriously consider leaving this backwater hog town. No offense."

Lily plastered a smile across her freckled face, "Enjoy your wine."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's not over yet! Let me know what you think in the comments and/or on Tumblr @littlejeanniebean :)


	8. Moonshine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Molly vs. Bella. Round 1/1. TW: mentioned domestic abuse.

Sticky, hot afternoons made everyone irritable and none more so than Bella Lestrange. She stumbled into Weasley’s Mercantile, her gaunt face caked with pale makeup and her wild, dark hair in disarray. Her black dress was torn and tattered, although it was made from very expensive material. Ever since Severus Snape and Lucius Malfoy skipped town, she stopped wearing those two belts of ammunition across her small chest and the twin guns she’d wielded were nowhere to be seen. 

She picked her way towards the counter where Arthur Weasley was polishing a rifle on display. His equally fiery-haired wife, Molly, was staring daggers into the back of the drunken woman’s head from the yard goods section, like she could get her to leave from sheer force of will.

“I need a gun,” Bella hiccuped.

Arthur cleared his throat, “Well, this here is a fine -”

“I’ll take it,” she weighed it in her hands and held the sight up to her eyes, “Ammo?”

He placed a box of shells on the counter, “That’ll be -”

She loaded the gun, cocked it, took the box and made to leave.

“Now, hold on, just a minute,” Molly stepped out into her path.

“Moll-”

“You can’t just let her walk out of here with that thing, Arthur! Last time she bought enough ammunition for Malfoy to light up the entire town  _ and _ she nearly killed our friends!”

“I paid you back, didn’t I?” Bella spoke dryly, no trace of a cackle, just a tired snarl, “I’ll be good for this too. Put it on my husband’s tab.”

With that, she pushed past Molly and out the door. She was standing in the middle of the street when Molly emerged after her, brandishing a sawed-off shotgun.

“Take one more step in Lily Evans’ direction and I’ll put a hole in ya,” the redheaded woman growled. 

Bella threw her head back, screamed and whirred around, rifle raised. 

Molly fired first. Once. Twice. Horses who hadn’t balked at the madwoman’s cry then threw fits and protested against their reins. 

Deputies Potter and Black dashed out of the saloon, followed by Lily Evans and Mary MacDonald. Doc Lupin was already in the middle of the street, checking for a pulse. He looked up at the deputies and shook his head. 

“Are you alright, Molly?” Deputy Potter guided her gently back inside the mercantile. 

“She wouldn’t pay and when she started walking towards the saloon, I was worried she might -”

“What the hell have yah  _ done _ ?” a large man with an ugly, scared face and a drunken gait stumbled out of the saloon, “Bella!  _ Bella _ !”

“You’ll stay right where you are, Rudolphus,” Doc Lupin was suddenly on his feet, holding a light pink handkerchief stained a thick white with Bella Lestrange’s makeup. 

“That’s my  _ wife _ !” the man raised his jar of moonshine, the drink spilling across the dry ground, and swung vaguely in Lupin’s general direction.

“That’s enough!” Deputy Black kicked the back of his knee and grabbed his arms as he went down.

“Your wife whom you beat senseless, you mean,” Doc Lupin waved the handkerchief at the dead woman, whose face was badly bruised under all that makeup, “I reckon she wasn’t going in for Miss Evans at all. She was coming for  _ you _ .”

“Oh, you reckon, do yah?” Rodolphus growled and tried to lunge forward again.

“I said, that’s  _ enough _ !” Deputy Black cuffed him, “You’ll sober up in jail for twenty-four hours and I swear, if we find anything in your homestead to incriminate you, we’ll hold you much longer and I don’t think anyone’ll miss ya.”

“She was a lousy whore anyway,” he spat, “Using her  _ bitch _ sister to meet rich men and sleep with ‘em...”

Lily jogged up the mercantile steps and took Deputy Potter aside, “What’s going to happen to Molly? She didn’t -  _ couldn’t _ \- have known! She was just trying to -”

“Bella Lestrange is still wanted for participating in the shootout with Snape and Malfoy,” he reassured her, “Mrs. Weasley might even get a reward.”

“Oh, what a relief!” she leaned towards him slightly as she sighed and he put a comforting arm around her waist. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think? :)


	9. Vodka

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There was a big window behind the desk, but instead of filling the room with light, it cast it in ominous shadows...

A sharply dressed man with styled dark hair, aristocratic features, and an ornate ring on his hand leaned back in his leather chair. He was in the gold business, although he never got his hands dirty panning or mining - he had people to do that. All Tom Riddle had to do was buy the land the gold was sitting on. His father before him, had worked for someone else and died on someone else’s claim for someone else’s fortune. Not him. He had just read a letter from Chicago. It informed him of the deaths of Fleamont and Euphemia Potter, formerly the proud owners of a large chateau on the river. They had left the estate to their only son, but if he were for some reason unable to claim it, it would be auctioned off with the proceeds going to some children’s hospital or another. 

Riddle had posted a bandit’s bail and the scum was brought to him. He poured his guest a straight vodka. “Peter - may I call you, Peter?”

The young man nodded like it was a nervous twitch. 

“I have a job for you, if you would like it. Your payment would be, of course, your freedom.”

“Y-you can do that?” Peter shivered and sniffed. He’d caught a bad cold in the city jail.

The businessman gestured grandly about the mahogany and leather and furs that surrounded them, not to mention the brass and bronze and, yes, gold. “What do  _ you _ think?”

The bandit leaned forward, “What’s the job?” 

Riddle had sent for a woman he’d known before she was married, but he instead received her husband, for whom he also posted bail.

“How did she die?” he shook out a silk handkerchief and dabbed lightly at the side of his eyes. 

“Some fire-haired bitch shot her in cold blood,” the man growled, grabbing the whole bottle of vodka off the desk, “and the deputies did  _ nothin’ _ !”

“Which deputies?” Riddle leaned in, fixing a look of revenge into his pretty face. 

“Black,” he spat, “and his partner - Putter or Pinter or -”

“ _ Potter _ .”

“That’s him,” Rudolphus Lestrange took a long swig, “How do  _ you _ know the scum?”

Riddle had been approached by the dead woman’s sister as well. 

“What can I do for you, Narcissa?” 

She shook her head delicately, sipping on her vodka tonic, “I came with a proposal for what my husband can do for  _ you _ , Mr. Riddle.”

“Is that so?”

“Rudolphus is a drunk,” she sniffed, “I warned our dear Bella and took as much care of her as she would allow me - you remember how proud she could be… and the bandit whom a  _ doctor _ caught? You need a  _ real _ huntsman.”

“Do you question my judgement?” he smiled silkily at her.

“Not at all. A man out for revenge and another who will do anything to survive can very well serve their purposes. Now, you need a man to serve  _ yours _ . Lucius knows the township like the back of his hand. He’ll get you your deputy’s head on a platter.”

“And I suppose you’ll want me to clear his debts with the various establishments he’s run out on?”

Narcissa stiffened briefly, but pulled her lips into a smile and raised her glass, “I knew I’d come to the right place.”

“Indeed, Mrs. Malfoy,” Riddle clinked his drink with hers, “Indeed.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dun Dun DUN... 
> 
> as always, i absolutely love hearing from you! i know this isn't a very popular sort of au, so your comments really do mean especially much to me! xx


	10. Rye

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dusk. Dust. Done.

Life was short in the west. James Potter knew this better than most, but it didn’t stop the acute ache that snapped his heart like a bear trap when he met the family lawyer in Chicago on what had only been described by wire as “urgent business.” Now he knew. His parents were dead. A freak accident on a river boat. Drowned. Not wanting to remain in the city a moment longer, he returned to the township of Hogsmeade and arrived in the wee hours of the morning. 

He walked into the saloon, though it was closed, hat in his hand and a solemn look on his face, “Lily.” 

“What happened?” she poured him a scotch as he sat down at the bar.

“My parents -”

A molotov cocktail rolled in under the batwing doors and caught fire under a table.

James leapt back as Lily ducked under the counter and, without standing, levelled her shotgun barrel warily at the portly, watery-eyed man who ran in with a bucket of water to put out the fire. 

“I saw the flames outside,” he half-turned slowly.

“Much obliged,” said the deputy. 

The man then turned in full with a pistol raised and James recognized his face. 

“Pettigrew, you rat! Did you follow me outta Chicago? How’d you get out of jail?”

“Ovah your dead bo-”

Lily cocked her shotgun and he let out a terrified squeak when he noticed her. “You wanna try that again?”

“Look, I had naw choice,  _ alrigh’ _ ?” the bandit’s tone changed and he turned to James, “I could get uh life sent-uns or hang! If I could bring you in -”

“To  _ who _ ?” the deputy took the pistol off his hands. 

“That’s enough,  _ rat _ ,” Rudolphus Lestrange strode in, sawed-off shotgun pointed at the deputy, “Ah see why they call yous that. Only gud fer distractin’.”

James aimed the pistol at the newcomer from his hip, “Distractin’ from wha-”

“ _ Mm _ !” A tight handkerchief was pulled over Lily’s entire face by a man with dark, greasy hair.

“Be still,” he struggled to hold her down, “It’s for your own good.”

“ _ Sm-mm-ms _ !  _ Mm-mm-hmm _ !”

“Now,” Lucius Malfoy emerged from the backdoor and aimed his revolver at Lily’s head. 

“This wasn’t the deal, Malfoy!” hissed Snape.

“Calm down, Severus, please,” the blond man drawled, “Let’s not… lose our heads...” he pressed the barrel to her temple.

“What do you want?” James redirected their attention back to him, “It’s me, isn’t it? You can let her go.”

“Ah, not quite, Mr. Potter. It’s your parents’ estate.”

“You can have it!” he said immediately, “Now let her go!”

“That’s where it gets complicated,” he walked around the counter to the deputy, “You see, your parents knew you rather…  _ resented _ the affluent way of life, the simpleton that you are. So they devised their will to state that unless you  _ died _ , their estate could only ever belong to  _ you _ .”

As the blond man spoke, he began gesturing carelessly with his gun, giving James the opening he needed.

For Lily, there was just a sudden lot of scuffling before three shots rang out.

“ _ Mm _ ! _ Mm-mm _ !” the woman protested, still unable to see anything for the kerchief over her face, but as Snape yanked her to her feet, she shoved him backwards into the liquor cabinet, took his gun from his holster with one hand and pulled the handkerchief off her face with her other. 

“Now, Miss Evans, be reasonable,” Malfoy sneered, finally regaining a solid grip on his weapon and pointing it at her, away from James, Lestrange and Pettigrew's slumped-over bodies, “Severus has just saved your life, as you would have no doubt gotten mixed up in the fight -”

His speech was interrupted as he staggered to the ground, a bleeding hole in his neck. But Lily hadn’t fired. She rounded on Snape, who stood there sullenly. No remorse, just sulking that he couldn’t get what he wanted. He didn’t have a gun in his hand to shoot. 

“Get out,” she growled, “I never want to see you again.” 

Lily didn’t spare him a second glance as she clambered over the counter, her burgundy hoop skirt covering James’ face briefly before she pulled them clear. His brown eyes were open, as was the gaping hole in his side, but he was breathing. Pettigrew’s revolving pistol in his hand was smoking. 

The redhead made to get up and run for the doctor, but he gripped her hand tightly.

“Don’t go,” he choked out, “Don’t leave me.”

“Don’t be stupid,” she pulled herself away, “ _ Lupin _ !  _ Doc _ ! It’s James!”

In short order, the doctor had the deputy on his operating table, a bottle of rye in his hand. “It’s not scotch but -”

“ _ Ngghhh _ !” James groaned as Lupin dug his forceps into the bullet hole. Then he chugged the bottle. 

“Where was all yer quick-thinkin’ an’ sharp-shootin’ back there?  _ Huh _ ?” Lily paced back and forth where she knew he could see her and hopefully come to understand how  _ stupid _ he’d been. 

“I was -” James gritted his teeth as Lupin dug in deeper, “I’m sorry I couldn’t -” he groaned in pain, “I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you.”

“Protect  _ me _ ?” her voice pitched up shrilly, “I’m not the one who got  _ shot _ !”

“I’m… I’m just sorry you were in harm’s way then -”

“Got it!” the Doc dropped the bullet into the pan and proceeded to stitch up his patient,

The deputy held the bottle of rye to his mouth, but he barely had a sip before his arm dropped once more to his side.

“James?” Lily was at his side in a flash, raising his arm for him, and holding the bottle to his lips, “James? Stay awake.”

“No, actually, it’s alright if he sleeps now,” said Lupin, cutting the thread.

“Oh, alright,” she took the bottle from him and finished it herself. 

Doc washed his hands and led her to the front room.

“Miss Evans… the deputy… might not make it through the night -”

“ _ What _ ?” Lily dropped the bottle with a smash and threw her hands over her mouth. 

“Or he might,” said the doctor slowly, “I’ll know which in a few hours. I just… wanted to prepare you since… you two seem to have gotten, er… rather close, shall we say?”

“He’s not courtin’ me or anythin’ official-like… I don’t think… or maybe he is… we never really talked about it...” she mumbled. 

“Well… he has no next of kin… only child, parents just died.”

“Oh, how awful…” the woman blinked rapidly. Life was short in the west, as she well knew, but she could not -  _ would not _ \- think of James dying too.

Just then, Deputy Black barged in, "I got the oily bastard. He confessed with a little persuasion. Said they were workin' on the dime of a man named Riddle and the rat had a little ladies' pistol in his boot. Shot James. How is he?"

Lupin repeated himself.

"I'm... gon' get a drink…” the man stumbled through his retreat, “be righ' back..." 

“Miss Evans, you can stay with the patient if you -”

“I would,” she said quickly, then flushed at his raised eyebrow.

The good doctor said nothing, though, as he pulled the curtain aside for her. 

In the morning, Lily woke up with her head resting on a nice, warm surface. Her hand was holding onto something nice and warm as well, but there was something on her hand - on her finger more precisely - that wasn’t there before. 

She opened her eyes groggily and registered someone else’s liquored breath fanning across her face. The woman shot up in her stool and almost stumbled backward on it, the only thing keeping her from falling was James’ hand in hers. 

“Alright, Miss Evans?” the deputy blinked up at her, smiling lazily. 

“Doc!” Lily called out, “Lupin, he’s -”

“Shh, let the doc sleep, he knows.”

“He… Does that mean…”

“Yep, I’m gon’ be badgering you for a scotch for a few more years, at least.”

She laughed and that’s when she noticed the ring on her finger, “Deputy…?”

“Yes, Miss Evans?”

The redhead suddenly had new question on her mind, “When did I become ‘Miss Evans’ again and not ‘Lily’ to you?” 

“When… I’m trying to be proper and asking you to marry me… with my late mother’s ring, which she willed to me to give to  _ you _ , specifically. She won’t take no for an answer.”

“She sounds like a lovely woman.”

“Ha!” he winced and held his side, but he recovered quickly, “Yeah, I knew you two would’ve gotten along.”

Lily twirled the ring around her finger. 

“So… Do you need time to think about it?”

“I can’t promise to obey you,” she looked at him seriously, “I can’t make a promise that I will not keep and I can’t obey anybody against my better judgement.”

“I’d never expect you to.”

Lily tried her best to hold in a smile, so she wouldn’t spoil the suspense of what she was about to say, but she couldn’t help it and beamed at him when she said, “Yes.”

“ _ Yes _ !” came a high-pitched echo from the front room, “You owe me two dollars and twenty-five cents, Black!”

“Aw, shucks, ya couldn’t wait another day, could ya, James?” the long-haired deputy stuck his head through the gap in the curtain.

“Would you, my best friend, deny me such happiness as this?” he cupped Lily’s freckled cheeks gently as he brought her down for a kiss.

“And now he’s a poet, gosh-darn,” Deputy Black shook his head and paid Mary MacDonald in full. 

“Wanna bet on when they conceive?” she wiggled her eyebrows.

The man scratched at the scruff on his chin for a moment, then shrugged gamely, “Hell, why not?”

"Oh, Sirius," James remembered, "Send a wire to Chicago. Tom Riddle. Tell 'im if he wants to pan for gold on my parents' property, he can rent it from me lawful. That is, if a jury don't convict him for conspiracy to murder."

"Be glad to, partner," the other deputy tipped his hat.

"So," Mary flounced over to Lily's side, "I'm thinkin' a summer wedding…"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Plot ends here, now let the one-shots begin! As always, I love hearing from you! :)


	11. Peppermint

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the kind of summer morning that's just windy enough not to feel stuffy, but not too windy that you don't feel warm - perhaps a touch too warm if you're wearing a corset...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BONUS CHAPTER! pianistbynight on Tumblr requested: jealous, shareholder, symptom :)

A woman with flaming red hair sat in a checked-table-clothed booth in a Chicago restaurant. Her satin blue dress was borrowed and her silk gloves were bunched up in her lap. The dark-haired, bespectacled man sitting beside her looked supremely uncomfortable in his brown suit, although she thought privately he looked quite handsome. She traced his features with her bright green eyes, realizing for the seventeenth time that day that he was now her husband. It took her mind off the time somewhat. 

“I can’t believe her,” she muttered eventually after half an hour had passed.

“Perhaps they’re having trouble finding the place,” he offered. 

“She’s the one who wanted to do lunch. I’d just as soon be back in Hogsmeade.”

“Is that her?”

He only knew his sister-in-law from his wife’s descriptions of her. A long neck like the leg of a snipe, a pinched nose like a chicken’s beak, and a mouth set permanently in a purse, like she was perpetually sucking on a peppermint. She held a porky, red-faced man’s arm like a vice. 

“We should’ve left while we had the chance,” the redhead grimaced as she stood politely, “Tuney.” 

“Lily,” she cast a bare-minimum sideways glance at the dark-haired man before looking him up and down critically. Then she pulled her own husband forward, “You remember Vernon.”

“How could I forget?” Lily sat back down as James stood up to greet them, “This is my husband, James. He’s a deputy with the marshals service.”

“So, practically a gun for hire?” Petunia Dursley shuffled along the bench, pinning her husband into the corner of the booth in her effort to not be sitting directly in front of the deputy. 

“More like a policeman,” James corrected her amiably, flagging a waiter and ordering for himself and Lily, who was tearing her bread bun to pieces above her plate.

“Well, my Vernon is a shareholder. Tell them about your latest big buy, darling.”

“Oh, yes,” the man began to twirl his mustache incessantly, “Riddle Property and Holdings, proudly Chicago-based.”

Lily choked on her bread. 

“Alright?” James whispered, rubbing soothing circles on her back. 

She nodded, despite feeling the exact opposite of alright. How could she be? How could  _ James _ be? Riddle had tried to kill them both!

“I’d caution you against holding onto those shares for long, Vernon,” said the deputy, “We at the marshals' office are looking closely at Mr. Riddle on counts of attempted first degree murder.”

Petunia’s fish-like eyes widened in shock and Vernon stopped twirling his mustache. They looked at each other for a moment, before they burst into uproarious laughter.

“Oh, Lily, when will you learn not to be so jealous?” her sister simpered, “And getting your husband to do the dirty work, honestly!”

“ _ Jealous _ ?” Lily seethed. 

“Misplaced anger is one of the symptoms,” Vernon’s chin wagged as he nodded in agreement with his wife, “Look, seeing as you are technically family, I’d be happy to offer you a loan so you can invest as well. I can’t offer you a discounted rate, mind, but you’ll be much better off than you are working as a… a… a barmaid -”

“Lily is a businesswoman,” James corrected him.

“Is that what she told you?” he tsked, “I regret to inform you, but you’ve married a loose woman -”

“ _ Excuse me _ ?” Lily stood suddenly with enough force to scrape her end of the bench backward.

James took her hand with all the appearance of calm, although his grip was firm and his hazel eyes were blazing, “I know  _ exactly _ the kind of woman I married. She is brave and kind and sharp as a tack. Furthermore, I reckon you know  _ exactly _ the kind of woman you married too. Only you prefer a mean, vindictive snake. I was trying to be helpful, giving you the heads-up on Riddle. You can take it how you will. It’s of no consequence to me. But if you  _ ever _ dare speak of my wife like that again, my gun might just accidentally go off in your direction and there’s no telling what might be hit.”

Petunia fainted with a gasp and Vernon fanned her face with his handkerchief.

“Good day to you,” the deputy took his wife’s hand, “Come on, Lily. If we leave now, we can make it back to Hogsmeade by sun down.”

She followed him out of the restaurant, her heart considerably lighter than it had been since that morning when they’d uttered, “I do.” When they reached their buggy, Lily sighed happily, “Have I mentioned that I love you, James Potter?”

“One or twice,” he grinned, planting a kiss on her lips, “I love you too, Mrs. Potter, have I mentioned?”

“Once or twice,” she took the reins and urged the horses on for home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's fangirl together over Lily being the one driving the buggy :)  
> Tumblr: [@littlejeanniebean](https://littlejeanniebean.tumblr.com/)


	12. Lemonade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's all sunshine and warm breezes until someone robs a bank...

Deputy Black pulled his hat lower to hide his face, “Jesus Fuckin’ Christ.” 

Mary MacDonald automatically hid her face with her hand fan, “What are we talking about?”

“You stay here,” Deputy Potter was at his partner’s side instantly, despite the few hundred or so gathered in the square for the county fair, “I’ll let them know child beaters are wanted criminals in  _ this _ township.”

“Not a child anymore,” Black mumbled, although his shoulders had slumped inward as a reflex. 

“Weren't they suspects in that bank robbery in Chicago?” MacDonald eyed the smug, richly dressed couple over the top of her feathered fan, "Got off on a technicality or something?"

“What are they doing here anyway?” Potter spotted the regular carriage driver from Chicago at the edge of the county fair grounds and walked over to him, “Howdy.”

“Deputy,” the man with an overbite and a harsh line of bangs above his monobrow touched his worn top hat.

“Did you drive Orion and Walburga Black into town, by any chance?”

“Is tha’ illegal, Deputy?”

“Not in itself, no sir, but yeh live in this town, don’t ya? 

“So?” the driver shrugged and resumed tending to his horses so he wouldn’t have to look at Potter. 

“Well, they be vile characters, Mr. Flint. I know them from the big city and they’re mean as they come. And we don’t want the kind of trouble they bring with ‘em in our town, do we?”

“I don’t get to choose who I drive,” Flint stopped working to cross his arms, “Sir.”

The deputy knew better. He’d seen him leave a robbed fellow stranded because he didn’t have anything to pay with. Potter also suspected that the driver was the one who made a woman get out of the carriage in the middle of the night because he found out she was running away from her husband. Flint made some true and certain choices, that’s for sure. All the deputy said, however, was, “I just ask that you never drive them in again.”

“We’re bannin’ people from visitin’ now? You can’t make me do tha’!” 

“No,” his jaw was set in a hard line now, “which is why I asked. Good day, Mr. Flint.”

"Potter!" MacDonald came charging towards him, hiking her skirts up to march faster, "They came  _ right _ up to us after you left! Got  _ all _ up in Sirius' face!  _ Goading _ him into going up against Orion in a horse race! Then  _ Lily _ comes in all,  _ 'Hold my lemonade! _ ' So now she's racing  _ Hedwig _ in Sirius' place at double the odds!"

_ Bang! _

She and the deputy ran to the start line just in time to see the swishing tails of Black's horse and Hedwig, Lily's snow white Arabian, a wedding gift from her husband, Deputy James Potter.

"I still don't understand why Sirius made me rush over," Mary sat down as three gentlemen moved to make space for  _ all _ of her hoop skirt, "A stupidly big bet, a horse race, where's the racket?"

"It's a distraction. I have to get to the bank," muttered James, "Sirius will need help."

Walburga Black held her son at gunpoint in the empty bank on the vacant street, "Drop your guns -  _ slowly _ \- good. Now, help the old man fill the bag, dearie."

"I'm sorry I couldn't stop her, Dumbledore," he apologized to the banker, sticking his hand into the bank safe and closing around the varnished handle of a gun.

"Nonsense, Deputy," his blue eyes sparkled behind his half-moon spectacles as he too reached into the safe and wrapped his fingers around a second revolver.

" _ Quiet _ !" 

Those were her last words. Sirius put down the smoking gun like it burned him. 

"Ah," James put one foot through the doorway and looked at his rarely shell shocked partner with concern, "Got it handled here, Mr. Dumbledore?"

"Alright here," the old man put an arm around Sirius and led him out the back way.

James dashed to the big banner over the finish line just in time to see Lily take the lead and win, her hair like fire over a waxen white candle. 

He grabbed Orion Black's horse by the harness and pulled him off by his fancy tailcoats, "You're under arrest."

The deputy marched the accomplice to the jail and as he passed a very surprised Lily, James leaned down to kiss her flushed cheek, "Congratulations, darlin'."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more to go! I always love hearing from you :))


	13. Snow

“What are you doing here?” Doc Lupin marched up to the deputy who’d been quiet as a mouse on his snow-covered back porch, sipping his emergency rye. 

“Delayin’ the inevitable,” Sirius Black waved the bottle around with some coordination, so the doctor knew he wasn’t too far gone just yet. 

“What?” joked Lupin, “Christmas Eve?”

“Lily’s pregnant,” the long-haired man caught a snowflake on his tongue. 

“Yes, we knew that since your birthday.”

“And they made me the godfather!” he despaired. 

“Ah,” the doctor sat down beside him, “and you’re worried that… what? It was an accident?”

“I’m an officer of the law! And so is James! And his… his spawn -”

“That’s really the word you’re going with?”

“His…” Sirius gulped nervously, “his child… his and Lily’s child… He or she  _ can’t _ grow up without a father. And if it happens that he has to grow up without a godfather as well…”

“Sirius,” Lupin pried the drink gently from his hand, “you know you can’t use alcohol as a crutch when you’re faced with life’s responsibilities.”

“But being a godfather isn’t a normal life responsibility! James and me -” 

“James and I.”

“That’s what I said! James and me, we swore to remain loyal bachelors to each other! Like brothers! And now I’m a  _ godfather _ to his  _ spawn _ !”

“You could both easily quit the marshals.” 

Sirius looked at him like he’d grown another head. 

“Or, you know, take fewer risks on the job.”

“But it’s more than just… being around, isn’t it? It’s… helping…  _ rear _ the spawn -”

“Child.”

“Ch-ch-”

“Come on, you can say it.”

“... Child,” he gulped and wished he could feel the rye burning down his throat. 

“Look, the Weasley’s kids love you, don’t they?”

“They think I’m a cowboy sheriff or somethin’.”

“Nevertheless, they come to you when they have trouble with the bullies at school, don’t they? When that Charlie boy struggles with his school work, when Bill thinks of quitting to go to work to help the family, when Percy needed glasses -”

“Sure, they come to me, but I -”

“And you’ve always been able to set them straight, haven’t you?”

“I just pretend I’m old Ma Potter -”

“And you took the time to do that, didn’t you? James is a great playmate for them, but he always points them to their teacher, to their mum when things get… personal, which is not a bad way to handle it, mind. But you  _ invest _ , even though it’s not your child and I think that’s why they knew you’d make a good choice. A good godfather.”

Sirius took a deep breath and dared to look up and see the sincerity on the other man’s face. “Great bedside manner, Doc.”

“I try,” Lupin shrugged modestly before clapping him on the back, “So… Do you want a ride back to the Potters’ for Christmas dinner?”

“No, I think I’ll just walk through ten feet of snow,” he grinned sarcastically, “Yes, thank you, I’d be much obliged.”

The doctor chuckled, “Good man… Care to bet on the gender of the child?”

“Not a chance, I’ve already lost too much to ol’ MacDonald. I fear my account may never recover.”

“Don’t let her hear you call her that.”

“Oh, lord, no.”

The two men trudged to the sled in better spirits, just in time for the holidays. 


End file.
